How to Apply

WIC Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must meet all of the following eligibility requirements:

• Categorical
• Residential
• Income
• Nutrition Risk

Categorical Requirement
The WIC Program is designed to serve certain categories of
women, infants, and children. Therefore, the following individuals
are considered categorically eligible for WIC:

Women
-- pregnant (during pregnancy and up to 6 weeks after the birth of an
infant or the end of the pregnancy)
-- postpartum (up to six months after the birth of the infant or the
end of the pregnancy)
-- breastfeeding (up to the infant's first birthday)

Infants
(up to the infant's first birthday)

Children
(up to the child's fifth birthday)

Residential Requirement
Applicants must live in the State of Texas. Applicants are not required
to live in the State or local service area for a certain amount of time in
order to meet the WIC residency requirement.

Income Requirement
To be eligible for WIC, applicants must have income at or below an
income level or standard set by the State agency or be determined
automatically income-eligible based on participation in certain programs.

Income Standard
The State agency's income standard must be 185 percent of the Federal poverty
income guidelines.

Click here to see Income Guidelines

Automatic Income Eligibility
Certain applicants can be determined income-eligible for WIC based on their
participation in certain programs. These included individuals:

-- eligible to receive Food Stamps, Medicaid, for Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF, formerly known as AFDC, Aid to Families with Dependent Children),

-- in which certain family members are eligible to receive Medicaid or TANF, or

-- at State agency option, individuals that are eligible to participate in certain
other State-administered programs.

Nutrition Risk Requirement
Applicants must be seen by a nutritionist who must determine whether the
individual is at nutrition risk. This is done in the WIC clinic at no cost to the
applicant.

"Nutrition risk" means that an individual has medical-based or dietary-based conditions.
Examples of medical-based conditions include anemia (low blood levels), underweight,
or history of poor pregnancy outcome. A dietary-based condition includes, for example,
a poor diet.

At a minimum, the applicant's height and weight must be measured and
bloodwork taken to check for anemia.

An applicant must have at least one of the medical or dietary conditions
on the State's list of WIC nutrition risk criteria.